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Afrofuturism Resources Guide: Explore Afrofuturism at MIT

Afrofuturism Resources Guide

Take a Course on Afrofuturism

Prof. Joaquín Terrones teaches Afrofuturism, Magical Realism, and Other Otherwise WorldsImage of brochure promoting MIT's course 21L.032/WGS.130. Orange text on a dark blue background reads "WGS.130 Afrofuturism, Magical Realism, & Other Otherwise Worlds. Joaquin Terrones, TR 3:30 - 5PM, HASS-H; CI-H, Fall 2024, 21L.032." Under the text is a silhouette of a dark blue figure with orange braided hair and orange wings against a large white circle. The figures arms and wings are spread open.

(21L.032/WGS.130)

Is this the only possible world? Or are there others free of white supremacy, colonialism, capitalism, patriarchy, and ecological devastation? What might it mean not just to imagine these possibilities but to listen for other worlds that already exist alongside our own? In this course, we will examine how Afrofuturism, magical realism, and other forms of the fantastic in North and Latin America not only envision alternatives to the current order but also identify existing ways of being otherwise in the world. Particular attention given to the roles race, gender, class, and sexuality play within these radically imaginative worlds. Topics vary from term to term but might include work by Octavia Butler, Gabriel García Márquez, Samuel Delany, Toni Morrison, N.K. Jemisin, José María Arguedas, and Janelle Monáe.

MIT and Afrofuturism at the Smithsonian

Prof. Danielle Wood speaks at the Smithsonian's Afrofuturism Series (2022)

Danielle Wood spoke at the session "Outer Space: Projecting Histories and Futures onto the Stars," as part of the Smithsonian's Afrofuturism Series "Claiming Space: A Symposium on Black Futures." This panel explored the Afrofuturist interventions attempting to reimagine space and questioning the standard assumptions behind imagined futures in space. The videos of Danielle's session on Outer Space and the full content of the three day Symposium are available here.

More information from the MIT Media Lab can be found at this link.

Afrofuturism at the MIT Press

Cover art for the book "In the Black Fantastic" by Ekow Eshun. A Black woman in a black leotard strikes a pose with arms and hands outstretched against a starry background. MIT Press publishes In the Black Fantastic by Ekow Eshun (2022)

"A richly illustrated exploration of Black culture at its most wildly imaginative and artistically ambitious, In the Black Fantastic assembles art and imagery from across the African diaspora. Embracing the mythic and the speculative, it recycles and reconfigures elements of fable, folklore, science fiction, spiritual traditions, ceremonial pageantry, and the legacies of Afrofuturism. In works that span photography, painting, sculpture, cinema, graphic arts, music and architecture, In the Black Fantastic shows how speculative fictions in Black art and culture are boldly reimagining perspectives on race, gender and identity."

Ekow Eshun appeared on Choice Publishing’s Toward Inclusive Excellence podcast for a discussion about the “Black fantastic”—a framework for understanding and reimagining Black experiences. The interview was conducted by Alexia Hudson-Ward, Associate Director for Research, Learning and Strategic Partnerships at MIT Libraries.